This course is an introduction to ethnology (cultural anthropology) at the MA level; a course grade of “B” or better satisfies the ethnology (cultural anthropology) subfield comprehensive exam requirement for the MA degree in Anthropology.

Course objectives

The course has three main objectives: (1) to provide an overview of key theoretical and topical issues in cultural anthropology; (2) to promote critical, informed readings of anthropological debates, past and present; and (3) to promote critical analysis in writing of contemporary cultural phenomena. We will focus on a variety of case studies both classical and contemporary with the aim both of defining how anthropologists have constructed their theoretical and methodological toolkit, and assessing how anthropological tools might be used in the analysis of global problems today.

For the Fall 2011 semester the case studies will be:

The development of classical ethnographyPerformance, the body, and the sensesGender, narrative, and life historyFood and cultureGlobalization and culture

Readings

Some readings are book chapters and articles which will be available on the Blackboard site for this course (more information below). Shakespeare & Co. (69th St. & Lexington Ave.) has ordered the following course books:

Evans-Pritchard, E.E. 1940. The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Neighborhood bookstores generate local jobs, are pleasant places to browse, and may feature distinctive services (discounts, knowledgeable personnel, alternative magazines and books from small publishers, used books, readings by local authors). On-line booksellers may offer other advantages (shopping ease, greater selection, convenience); on-line book prices (and shipping charges) vary widely. If you order your books for this course (or other books) via the Internet, you may do so at Shakespeare’s site http://www.shakeandco.com/ or you may consult the following sites, which will do an automatic comparison of prices at dozens of online stores: http://www.bookfinder4u.com/ or http://www.bestwebbuys.com/books/ . If you order books through Amazon, please consider going to its site through the CUNY Graduate Center’s virtual bookshop http://www.gc.cuny.edu/bookshop/ Amazon purchases via this portal generate funds that support the CUNY library system.

Requirements for the course include:

Active, informed and consistent participation in class discussions. Class participation will be judged by level of preparation, critical engagement in class, and generosity to other students (20% of final grade; in other words, to pass the course with a “B” you must participate in class discussions).

Five double-spaced, 2-3 page critical essays on the assigned ethnographies. These must be submitted prior to the day when the ethnography is discussed (25% of final grade). The approach you take in these essays is up to you, but they must examine issues raised in the texts under discussion. Please proofread your work carefully before submitting it. Papers with significant spelling or grammatical errors, or which in other ways do not meet professional standards, will receive much lower grades. Late submissions will not be accepted under any but the most unusual circumstances.

In-class mid-term and final examinations (15% and 20%, respectively).

A critical reading journal (to be evaluated at midterm and end of term)

This syllabus may be modified during the semester. All assigned readings must be completed before the class for which they are assigned. Some weeks have lighter reading lists than others. Students should therefore always read ahead in order to complete the longer assignments on time.

A NOTE ABOUT BLACKBOARD AND E-MAIL:

This course will make use of Blackboard (BB). Registered students may access the BB site from any computer with an Internet connection. Information about how to register for the CUNY portal and BB is at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/icit/trc/gaweek/bbStudentHelp.shtml Once you have done this, you may log on to BB at https://portal.cuny.edu/portal/site/cuny/index.jsp?epi-content=LOGIN

The syllabus is available on the BB site under “Course Information.” I encourage students to participate in a “Discussion Board” (under “Communications”) where they may submit questions or comments about the readings, lectures and class discussions and respond to questions and comments from other students. It is recommended (but not required) that all students participate in the BB discussion boards each week. Blackboard allows the instructor to email individual students or the entire group, but it only uses Hunter email addresses that students receive automatically when enrolling at the College. It is important that you activate your Hunter email address and check it frequently or that you set it to forward messages to an account that you check frequently. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE INSTRUCTOR CANNOT RESOLVE TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WITH BB. FOR PROBLEMS WITH BB, CONTACT INSTRUCTIONAL COMPUTING AT 212 772-4946 OR 212 650-3275 OR EMAIL bb@hunter.cuny.edu

HUNTER COLLEGE POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

The Hunter College Senate requires that the following statement be included on all syllabi:

“Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating on examinations, obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious offenses against the values of intellectual honesty. The College is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic Integrity Procedures.”COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to modification)

Evans-Pritchard, E.E. 1940. The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic People. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 1-15, 94-191.Coote, Jeremy. “'Marvels of Everyday Vision': The Anthropology of Aesthetics and the. Cattle-Keeping Nilotes.” In The Anthropology of Art, A Reader. ed Howard Morphy and Morgan Perkins. (pdf). Essays on British social anthro and E-P (to be determined)

VIII. Monday, October 31: Gender and Life StoriesBehar The Presence of the Past in a Spanish Village: Santa María del Monte (1986) or Woman Translated (2003)Essay on social history, ethnography, etc.Crapanzano “On the life history” (“Kevin” and Tuhami)Narayan, Kirin. Essay?